


When You Can't Speak, You Sing (And When You Can't Sing, You Dance)

by wisdomofme



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Because I started this in November and forgot, F/M, Fluff, Has nothing to do with Christmas though, JATP Secret Santa 2020, Pining Luke, Post Season 1, Slow Dancing, its totally reciprocated but pov restrictions, thats right you heard me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisdomofme/pseuds/wisdomofme
Summary: Luke first learned to dance when he was three years old. Of course he’s going to want to dance with Julie Molina.ALTERNATIVELYLuke and Julie slow dance in her kitchen. You're Welcome.
Relationships: I mean it's mostly just Luke being sappy, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, but that's what you're all here for right?
Comments: 20
Kudos: 175





	When You Can't Speak, You Sing (And When You Can't Sing, You Dance)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smol_fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smol_fangirl/gifts).



> Dear Mandy,
> 
> Surprise! I was your Wichtel!
> 
> I really hope you like this fic. Once I read [This Dance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687175/chapters/67756660) I just couldn't get the idea of Luke and Julie dancing out of my head. Then, prompted by the line _we're dancing 'round your kitchen in the refrigerator light_ from All Too Well by our Lord and Saviour T Swift, I knew exactly what I had to do.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy your gift and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and an awesome New Year!
> 
> Love,   
> Steph <3

Luke first learned to dance when he was three years old.

His earliest memories were of his mum letting him stand on her toes and twirling them around the kitchen as the radio played in the background. The smile on her face would be as wide as the moon and Luke couldn't help but stare at her as she spun them round and round. She would try to teach him the steps, a simple triple step or a touch step she thought he could manage, but it would inevitably devolve into her swooping down and scooping him into her arms before spinning madly, laughter erupting from both of them.

His dad would watch from the kitchen doorway, only stepping in to tap Luke on the shoulder when he was so dizzy he thought he would throw up.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" He would ask even though Luke wasn’t sure what that meant.

His mum would gently deposit him back on the ground and Luke would clamber eagerly onto one of the kitchen chairs. He watched with wrapped attention as his dad would take his mum's hand and the pair of them would begin to waltz around the too small kitchen like it was a ballroom. 

His parents were in love, in love with each other and in love with dancing.

When Luke was seven years old his parents finally took him to one of their competitions. He would sit right next to his nanna in the front of the stands and cheer along with the crowd as ‘Team Patterson’ was announced. He felt giddy as he watched his mum and dad walk hand in hand to the middle of the stage before turning back to face the crowd. To face Luke.

His mum winked when she saw him and then the music started.

It was all at once more and less than those warm mornings in the kitchen. The music was more (the music thrumming through the stands like it was trying to escape the room), the clothing was more (brighter and bolder than mum’s blue jeans and dad’s flannel shirt), the crowd was more (no longer was it just Luke watching his parents as they span in the morning light).

But his mum couldn’t pick him up and spin him wildly while he was trapped in the stands, and his dad couldn’t tap him on the shoulder from the other side of the room.

That didn’t stop Luke from absorbing every noise, every sound, from the competitions and letting them rest against his bones. The thumping of his heart became the beat of a drum and the rhythm of the music sang in his veins. Dancing was for his parents, he decided at the tender age of seven. Dancing was for the smiles they gave when they finally came to a halt in the middle of the stage, their chests heaving with exertion and hands trembling with excitement. Dancing was for the look they shared in the kitchen on mornings when the radio played and the sun filtered in through their lace blinds. 

Luke’s hands would clench on the side of his seat as a new couple entered the stage and the music amped up again, washing over the crowd. He had decided that dancing was for his parents but music was for him.

Memories like that were why he fell in love with music. Memories like that made him mourn the close relationship he had with his parents. The relationship that died when they crashed on their way home from a competition when he was thirteen years old and too cool to watch them compete. That died when his mum shattered her pelvis and spent 6 months relearning how to walk.

That died when her ballroom career did.

(Just because her dream didn’t come true didn’t mean Luke should give up on his.)

After that Luke didn't think much about dancing, instead focusing on the music that felt like it was pouring out of him. Luke didn't think much about dancing at all, until he died and stumbled into the life of one Julie Molina.

Julie Molina could dance. Well, to be fair, Luke had never _seen_ her dance but she was an absolute wrecking ball of talent and Luke wasn’t sure if he believed that there was anything she _couldn’t_ do.

After all, she had just saved Luke, Alex and Reggie from dying a second time.

But that didn't change the fact that the closest Luke had seen of Julie dancing was her jumping around a stage as music- _their_ music, echoed around them. And Nick had. Nick had danced _with_ her.

Luke wasn’t bitter. That would be absurd. But that didn’t stop him from wondering what it would feel like to hold Julie’s hand in his and spin her around the room.

It was the middle of the night when the kitchen light turned on.

Alex had gone to visit Willie and Reggie was in Carlos’ room playing some new video game the kid had got for his birthday last week and that left Luke alone and bored. He didn’t even think before poofing into the kitchen.

He appeared by the sink, ready to figure out which one of the three Molina’s had decided they needed a midnight snack, when his eyes caught on Julie. She stood in front of the open fridge, perched on her tiptoes as she pulled something down from the top shelf. Luke went to say something but the glimpse of small white buds in her ears told him it would be pointless. Instead he leant back against the bench and waited, basking in the familiarity of the scene as he watched her in her bed socks and oversized jumper. After a moment her hands finally closed around her prize with a small hum of success and she turned.

She spotted him instantly and, although she froze for a split second, she didn’t jump and she didn’t scream. Instead her gaze softened and she walked towards him.

"Hey," Julie said, pulling out the earbuds as she came to a stop. A soft smile graced her lips as she looked up at him. "You just wanted to see what we got again?"

Luke laughed and scratched at the back of his neck self consciously. "No, I just saw the kitchen light turn on and hoped you'd be up."

Julie’s shoulders straightened and Luke could tell that she was quietly pleased that he wanted to see her. If only she knew he _always_ wanted to see her.

Luke nodded to the earbuds in her palm. “What are you listening to?”

She hummed like she hadn’t quite caught his question, like she’d been distracted by something, before ripping her gaze down to her clenched fist. “Oh,” she said, a moment too late. “It’s some kind of slow waltz?”

She sounded almost unsure and Luke had to choke down a chuckle as a grin split his face. Julie scowled just slightly like she could tell he was silently laughing at her.

“It’s for school,” she hissed, her voice defensive as she snatched the loaf of bread from where it sat beside Luke. “We have to compare genres of music and write a report on how they produce different emotions-” Luke watched as Julie grew frustrated with her own explanation and cut herself off. The urge to laugh only grew as she nearly slammed the jar and bread down on the countertop beside her and ripped her phone from the pocket of her pyjama pants. He stopped himself, just barely. “Here, you listen. Maybe you can figure out Ms Harrison’s stupid assignment.”

It took Julie a moment to fiddle with her phone, a pout etched across her face, but she finally got it and music erupted from the tinny speaker. And it was like Julie wasn’t even there. It was like Luke was three years old and the morning sun was streaming through his kitchen window as his mum bent down to wink at him and whisper, _“Do you want to dance?”_ Once again, for what felt like the millionth time since he met her, Julie Molina filled Luke with awe.

“That’s my mum’s favourite song.” He tried to make the sentence sound casual, but his throat felt tight and Julie’s expression wobbled slightly and he knew he failed.

“Ah- No, I’m so sorry.” Julie’s eyes were wide as her fingers tapped frantically against her phone. “I’ll just… Sorry I’ll turn it-”

Luke’s hand snapped out before he even could even think about it. “No. Don’t.” The words escaped him as his hand pressed against her wrist. His nerves burned where his skin met hers. “It’s… nice.” Luke let his gaze wander across the kitchen, trying to fit the memory of his own over the top of the Molina’s, before his eyes came back to Julie’s. “It’s nice to remember.”

Julie’s shoulders relaxed as a small exhausted smile flitted across her face and Luke found that he couldn’t fit his memories of him and his mum over the two of them. It was like trying to push a square block through a round hole, like the angle was all wrong. His chest felt heavy at the reminder of the life that had slipped through his fingers but then his eyes focused on the crease of Julie’s eyes and the way her cheeks bunched by her lips and the memory snapped into place like an elastic band. Suddenly he was sitting on a kitchen chair, watching his mum dance with his dad and everything made sense.

Luke blinked just once as the song finished.

“Would- would you mind playing it again?” He asked quietly, his hand having fallen back to his side at some point but he could still feel the phantom pressure of her wrist under his fingers.

Julie nodded once, sympathy filling her eyes as she understood. Her gaze broke from Luke’s as she looked to her phone and set the song to play a second time. When she looked back his right hand was hovering between them.

"Do you dance, Julie?" He asked softly, not to disturb the music as it slowly filled the room once again.

Julie blinked for a moment, almost stunned by the question but Luke’s hand was already moving, his fingers slowly intertwining with hers as he took a step closer. He watched Julie bite down on her bottom lip as he raised their joined hands, his left arm slowly wrapping around her waist like he was waiting for her to object.

After a long moment she finally decided to put him out of his misery. "A little," she said, all fluttering lashes and coy glances. "Do you?"

He smirked as his palm pressed into the divot of her spine, just at her waist. "A little." 

He began to sway softly to the slow music and Julie followed his lead as they turned on the spot, small shuffling steps that didn't move them very far. Nothing more difficult than a simple swaying as he relished how close they were. Julie’s free hand slid up his shoulder and Luke wondered if the prickling under his skin wherever she touched him would still be there if he was alive. Could a person get addicted to a feeling? He wanted to be addicted to this.

“Are these dance skills from the 90s?” Julie asked as her fingers softly stroked against the back of his shoulder. It was distracting in the best of ways. “Cause boys from 2020 definitely do not dance like this.”

Luke snorted as he let go of her waist and raised their linked hands. Julie’s brown eyes shone with delight as she twirled underneath his arm. He wrapped his arm back around her waist and if she noticed that he pulled her a little bit closer than before then she didn’t say anything. 

“Boys from 2020 don’t know anything,” Luke said, half a sigh in his voice. “Dancing is important, it’s how people communicate with music.”

A chuckle slipped from Julie’s lips and Luke couldn’t stop his goofy grin. He didn’t care if she was laughing at him, it was worth it to hear that sound. 

“You know, Reggie warned me about your music speeches,” Julie said as the music faded out and the two of them came to a stop. “He didn’t tell me they extended to dance as well.”

Luke huffed, grabbing Julie’s other hand off his shoulder and letting their joined hands hang between them. “You know he always used to fall asleep before I could get to that part.” The music on Julie’s phone changed to a song that was a bit more upbeat, a bit more jazzy, and Luke almost bounced at the sound. He glanced over to the phone, unconsciously giving Julie’s hands a small squeeze in his excitement. He turned back to her. “Do you know swing?”

Julie let out a breathless laugh as she blinked up at him. “ _You_ know how to swing dance?”

Luke straightened, dropping one of her hands so he could clutch at his chest. “Excuse you, I was taught by the very best.”

Her smile was blinding as she shook her head and Luke felt like he was looking at the sun. It seemed like it should have been against the laws of nature that he hadn’t gone blind yet from staring at Julie Molina. But he wanted to bask in her glow forever.

Instead he tugged her to his side with a whispered, “Here.”

Like his mum did when he was three years old, Luke showed Julie a simple triple step and a few touch steps, and now he was _sure_ Julie could dance because she picked up the moves on the second try. “Yeah, just like that,” he said, unable to stop the grin on his face as he grabbed her other hand. “And then ball-change and you just keep going.”

Julie laughed as he swung her out with one hand and she stumbled over her first step. Luke pulled her back, using the momentum to swing past her, and just like that they were dancing again. Julie’s eyes were glued to her feet, only glancing up every once in a while with a flush on her cheeks and a grin on her face, but Luke started dancing when he was three years old and he didn’t need to look away. He soaked in every moment, every miniscule change of expression on her face and made sure that if he forgot everything else in the world he would remember _this_. Remember the concentrated frown on her forehead, remember the way her smile stretched so wide it looked like her cheeks hurt, remember the glow of the kitchen light as it reflected in her brown eyes.

Remember dancing with Julie Molina in her kitchen at midnight and falling just ever so slightly more in love.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, if you want to chat about this fic or just with me in general you can find me on [tumblr](https://wisdomofme.tumblr.com/) or comment below! Have a wonderful Holiday Season guys!


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